Public sector bodies may share more buildings

PUBLIC bodes like the NHS, councils, police and fire services are likely to share more buildings in future as part of a “revolution” in the way new facilities are developed, a new report has predicted.

The State of the NHS Scotland Estate 2011 report hails the Scotland-wide “hub initiative” which also sees a private sector development partner involved to get better value for taxpayers.

“From small GP practices to large combined community, health and sports centres, the hub initiative is set to revolutionise the way Scotland’s public bodies plan new facilities and deliver their services,” the report states.

It will lead to savings in procurement, construction inflation, as well as cost efficiencies and economies of scale, while projects are expected to get off the ground more quickly than in the past.

The country is divided into five geographical areas as part of the scheme – north, west, east, central, south east and south west.

A £200 million development of health projects are to be developed over the next five years as part of the scheme.